The treatment of raw water having obnoxious odors and disagreeable colour has been carried on in many ways. In a measure, these procedures have succeeded in producing potable water free of the dark colour. However, the cost has been so high as to be beyond the average household capability. Then too, some of the procedures employ apparatus requiring maintenance calling for expertise and more expense.
One particularly troublesome chemical present in much water is hydrogen sulphide, which makes raw water so dark in colour as to be called "black water", because indeed the colour is almost black. Also, in the dissolved impurities in the water are objectionable amounts of iron compounds and soluable compounds of other metals, such as manganese and strontium. To make "black water" potable and capable of household use, the hydrogen sulfphide must be removed and desirably so must many of the soluable compounds.
Examples of water treatment pertinent in this case are disclosed in U.S. patents to Victor Schleyer et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,258 and J. Robert Krebs et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,656, and J. F. Sebold, U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,753.